This is Roald Tweet on Rock Island. The Mississippi River Valley in which Rock Island nestles is lovely, but there is a lonely beauty, too, above the bluffs. Where the tallgrass prairies once stretched out for more than two hundred miles in every direction, now lies a checkerboard of corn, soybeans, and pasture, with small towns scattered far apart on this flat board like checkers in a game almost over. Other Episodes ... Read More

Miles Coleman, writer and editor with the Crystal Ball produced by the University of Virginia Center for Politics, talks about the Center’s predictions for the presidential race and control of the US Senate and US House. He also suggests some key early indicators to watch for how the election will go, including for Iowa. Other Episodes May 9, 2024 The Origins of... Read More

This is Roald Tweet on Rock Island. Imagine what the view from Rock Island must have been like just before the Civil War, when some 1,500 steamboats a month passed the island, carrying immigrants north to Midwest farms, and produce from those farms south to St. Louis markets. The Mississippi River steamers ranged from small, basket-ball-court sized packet boats with paddle wheels in the rear to 300-foot-long football field models with two side wheels, the most haunting and romantic mode of transportation ever devised. Other Episodes ... Read More

Other Episodes May 10, 2024 The Cities 5/11/24 The Cities 4/11/24 Listen · 27:15 ... Read More

Other Episodes June 23, 2023 Scribble: The Finale Listen · 29:02 June... Read More

Other Episodes May 11, 2024 Bird Migration and Light Pollution Listen · 2:56 ... Read More

On Midwest Week, in their own words African American residents of the Quad Cities describe what it’s like to live here. Other Episodes December 30, 2022 Ballot Counting Problems in Scott County On Midwest Week, some of the numbers from the November election in Scott County still don't add up, but the counting is over. ... Read More

This is Roald Tweet on Rock Island. Even in ancient Greece, professors were accused of having their heads in the clouds. Their places of work are still called “ivory towers.” Before you agree, listen to this Rock Island story. Other Episodes December 27, 2023 The Special Edition This is Roald Tweet on Rock Island. ... Read More

Kathie Obradovich, editor of the Iowa Capital Dispatch, provides an overview and analysis of all the key races in Iowa, from the presidency to the state legislature. Obradovich has 30+ years experience reporting on politics and government in Iowa including as a political reporter for the Quad City Times and political columnist and opinion editor for the Des Moines Register. Other Episodes May 9, 2024 ... Read More

This is Roald Tweet on Rock Island. Of all the trees that inhabit the Mississippi River Valley, the most common are certainly the several species of willow that grow thick on the islands and bottomlands and along the sloughs of the main channel. Other Episodes December 27, 2023 The Special Edition This is Roald Tweet on Rock Island. ... Read More